Late Thursday night, July 10, 2014, the City of Richmond Planning Commission voted to certify the Environmental Impact Report for the Chevron Modernization Project. CBE had previously highlighted the flaws of this EIR; despite the millions of dollars and consultant resources spent on drafting the EIR, it still presents a project with clear climate, pollution and safety implications.

The Attorney General had even previously intervened, recommending an environmentally superior alternative. However, following Wednesday’s public hearing, the Planning Commission’s decision highlights that it has certainly heard the community’s voice. The Commission adopted CBE’s proposed:

Climate Justice Mitigation Condition,

Clean Air Mitigation Condition, and

Inherent Safety Mitigation Condition.

Together, these conditions will decrease pollution, help California achieve its greenhouse gas reduction goals, create a just transition and clean energy jobs program for local residents of Richmond, and improve safety at the refinery by replacing outdated and corroded piping and eliminating temporary “clamp” patching replacements throughout the refinery.

“Our vision is to build our long term clean energy jobs future with the safest least emitting refinery that we can have while it’s still here. The victory tonight is a huge step towards reaching that goal,” said Greg Karras, CBE Senior Scientist.

The EIR still suffers many defects, but these conditions go a long way to addressing those public and worker health and safety concerns. It remains to be seen whether Chevron will appeal these community conditions to the Richmond City Council.